Verses 22–30
These verses discuss tawḥīd (Oneness of God) and proofs of it.
Commentary
قُلِ ادْعُوا الَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُمْ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ ۖ لَا يَمْلِكُونَ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَلَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَمَا لَهُمْ فِيهِمَا مِنْ شِرْكٍ وَمَا لَهُ مِنْهُمْ مِنْ ظَهِيرٍ ٢٢
(34:22) Say: Call upon those whom you swear by, other than Allah; they do not control an atom’s-weight in the heavens or on the earth, and they have no share in either. And none of them is a helper to Him.
This verse commands the Prophet to argue that their demigods are false, for they are powerless to respond to their prayers. Call upon those whom you swear by, other than Allah means “call upon those whom you have sworn are gods other than God.” The two objects of swear are left unmentioned but are understood from the context. “Call upon them” means “ask them for something you need.”
They do not control an atom’s-weight in the heavens or on the earth: This is framed as a response, as if this is the implied dialogue: “So what will happen if they call on them?” “They shall not respond to them in any way, for they do not control an atom’s-weight in the heavens or on the earth.” If they did have control, they would have responded. And, a demiurge can only be said to enjoy lordship or divinity if it controls a thing that people require and which it can bless people with. If it can do that, then it deserves to be worshipped and thanked. However, if it controls nothing, then it is neither a god nor a lord.
And they have no share in either: That they have no control was asserted in they do not control (la yamlikūna). “Control” [mulk, which can also mean “rule over” or “own”] is meant in an absolute sense for all existence. Here, in this sentence, what is being negated is any control over any part of existence, divided or undivided. The idolaters (mushrikīn) used to claim that rulership was shared between their demigods and God. They held that each of their demigods controlled a part of creation, whereas God was the Lord of Lords and God of Gods.
Therefore, their demigods must reply when they are called, at least with respect to matters under their scope. Their lack of response makes it clear that they have no form of divinity or lordship.
And none of them is a helper to Him: Meaning, none of them wholly or partially aids God, since there is no reason that God is unable to uphold and manage the universe on His own. If He had a helper to assist him in managing the universe, it would be a ruler in its own right and would respond when called upon for assistance in matters in its office. Since this does not happen, this is not the case.
From what has been previously, it is clear that three facets run through this argument that the absence of response from their demigods equals the absence of their demigod. These facets are: (a) whether or not their demigods have absolute control over the heavens and earth, (b) whether or not their demigods are partners with God, or (c) whether or not their demigods help or support God.
وَلَا تَنْفَعُ الشَّفَاعَةُ عِنْدَهُ إِلَّا لِمَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ ۚ حَتَّىٰ إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ قَالُوا مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ ۖ قَالُوا الْحَقَّ ۖ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبِيرُ ٢٣
(34:23) And intercession shall be of no avail before Him, except for whom He allows. Until [the time] when fear is removed from their hearts, they will ask, What did your Lord say? They will say, the truth, and He is the High, the Great.
The idolaters used to claim that their demigods would intercede for them, as God says: They say, These are our intercessors before Allah (). Here, “intercession” does not mean intercession in the hereafter, which is something the Qur’an establishes, for they did not believe in the hereafter. Rather, it is referring to intercession in worldly affairs: they would worship their demigods, and their demigods, in turn, would plead to God on their behalf to take care of their needs or fix their problems.
The argument here is as follows: If their demigods were creations of God and under His control in every way, there is no way that they could intercede independently—unless God granted them that capacity. Therefore, the root of the matter is whether or not God has granted them permission to intercede.
Except for whom (li-man) He allows: There are two possibilities for the interpretation of li- in li-man:
First, it could denote ownership (lām al-mulk); hence for whom (li-man) would refer to the angels. In this case, it would mean, “Intercession shall be of no avail, except for those who seek intercession from those whom God has allowed intercede.”
Second, it could denote causality (taʿlīl), in which case, it would mean “those whom God allows to receive intercession.” That is, it would mean: “Intercession shall be of no avail, except for those whom God has permitted to receive intercession.”
Tafsīr al-Kashshāf says that the second interpretation “is a subtle interpretation and is the correct one.”
This is the correct view, for, elsewhere, God speaks of the angels as intermediaries carrying out the divine command:
They do not precede Him in speech, and do as they are told ().
All praise be to Allah, originator of the heavens and the earth, maker of the angels as messengers with wings two, three, and four. He adds to creation as He wills. Allah has power over all things. ()
The form of being an intermediary mentioned here is that of being an intercessor; this was discussed more in the first [Arabic] volume in the discourse on intercession.
All of the angels are intercessors, but not for everything or everyone. Rather, they can intercede in the matters which God permits them to intercede in, and for the people whom God permits them to intercede for. Their ability to intercede is contingent on their receiving divine permission to intercede for specific people; it is not a question of whether or not they can inherently intercede. Therefore, this verse is in the meaning of they only intercede for whom Allah wills (), not in the meaning of none can intercede, except by His will ().
Until [the time] when fear is removed (fuzziʿa) from their hearts, they will ask, What did your Lord say? They will say, The truth, and He is the High, the Great: Fuzzʿia means “removing fear (fazaʿ)”. According to the context, the plural pronoun they refers to the intercessors; that is, the angels.
Until [the time] when fear is removed from their hearts: This denotes an end-point [such as a boundary in time]. That is, something must occur to make them frightened; and then, something will remove that fear. What has happened is that they are awaiting the divine command; upon receiving that, the fear is lifted. The verse is in the same vein as:
And whatever creature that is in the heavens and that is on the earth makes obeisance to Allah, and the angels, and they do not show pride. They fear their Lord above them and do what they are commanded. ()
Fazaʿ is a sense of terror and constriction; their obeisance (sajdah) here expresses their humility out of fear of their Lord above them.
From this, it is clear that what is meant by “fear” here is the humility in their hearts that overwhelms them, for they are the means – the “intercessors” – through which the divine command is enacted. This fear continues to ensure that they have enacted the commands as per what God has ordered. It eases when the divine command reaches them and they busy themselves in carrying it out. It is as if they exist for nothing apart from enacting and obeying the divine command; it is as if nothing stands between God and the enactment of the divine decree, apart from His command. Understand that.
They are described as experiencing fazaʿ and tafzīʿ in their hearts in order to show that they are heedless of their own selves, and of everything except their Lord. They sense nothing else, until the fear is lifted from their hearts upon the issuing of the divine command. Then, with no delay, they carry it out; they do not procrastinate. God says:
Whenever He wills something, he says to it Be! and it is. ()
Therefore, with this in mind, it can be deduced from this verse that they remain in this state of fear until the fear is lifted from their hearts by receiving the divine command.
They will ask, What did your Lord say? They will say, the truth, and He is the High, the Great: This indicates that the angels consist of many different groups; they ask each other about the divine command after it has been issued and the fear has been lifted from their hearts. From this, it can be deduced that the divine command reaches some of them quicker than others; otherwise, they would not be asking each other about it.
Therefore, they have varying levels and degrees; some are above others. The lower ones receive the divine command from the higher ones without any delay. That is, the lower ones obey the higher ones. This can also be deduced from the verse There is no one who lacks an assigned place (), after some contemplation on it. It can also be deduced from the verse on the Trustworthy Spirit (al-rūḥ al-amīn): Possessed of power before a mighty throne—obeyed, trustworthy ().
Although they are both obedient and obeyed, they are all only really obeying God, for He is the true one whom they obey. The superior angels’ only concern is to deliver the divine command to their subordinates. From the expression They will ask, What did your Lord say? They will say, The truth, and He is the High, the Great—in particular, describing God’s word as truth (ḥaqq)—it can be understood that this decree is fixed and cannot be negated or tinkered with.
How subtle is the end of the verse! It wraps up with He is the High, the Great—meaning that He is the High, above all things, and the Great, whom all other things shrink before. The honoured angels can do naught except receive His word of truth, carry it out, and obey, as He wills.
Therefore, this verse indicates that, inside themselves, are fearful and humble, heedless of all but their Lord, gazing towards the divine courtyard and magnificence, awaiting the command, at which time the fear is lifted from their hearts. There are varying groups of angels, at different levels, high and low; the higher ones deliver the divine command to the lower ones as it descends.
Although they are intermediaries and intercessors, they do not interfere in the workings of the universe unless their Lord has specially permitted them to do so. They enact the divine command in creation as it is sent and do not act independently or according to their own opinion, for beings such as this see and hear nothing except obeying their Lord in what He commands. With this in mind, how could they be independent overlords with their own ideas about what to give or withhold?
Exegetes have also put forward other interpretations of this verse:
- The pronoun their and the second they (in they will ask) refer to the idolaters, and the first they (in they will say) refers to the angels, meaning that the idolaters will be frozen in fear [on the Day of Judgment]. Then, when the fear is lifted from their hearts, the angels will ask them, “What did your Lord say?” The idolaters will reply, “The truth.” Thus, they will confess what they denied in this world.
- The pronoun their in their hearts refers to the angels, and it means that when the angels who have been entrusted with recording people’s deeds ascend to the heavens, the other angels will be stricken with terror. This is because the recording angels have ponderous, petrifying voices, and so the other angels will fear that the final Hour has come. Therefore, they will fall in obeisance to God until the fear is lifted from their hearts and they realize that the divine command is about something other than the Hour. They will ask each other, “What did your Lord say?” They will say, “The truth.”
- When God appointed the Prophet Muḥammad, there had been a long gap in time between him and Jesus during which revelation had not descended. So when God sent down Gabriel with the revelation, the angels thought that God was sending down a command to bring about the final Hour, and were awe-struck. Therefore, Gabriel went to each of the heavens and dispelled the fear from the angels residing in them. Then they raised their heads, and some of them asked others, “What did your Lord say?” They replied, “The truth”—meaning “the revelation (waḥy)”.
- The pronouns they and their refer to the angels, and the verse means that when God sent revelation to some of the angels, the other angels heard it and were overwhelmed. Terrified, they fell into obeisance at the enormity of this divine sign. Then, when the fear was lifted from their hearts, either the angels asked the angels who had been given revelation, “What did your Lord say?” or else the angels asked each other, “What did your Lord say?” Then, they understood that the command was directed at beings other than themselves.
Upon contemplating this verse and considering what we already said about it, you will come to understand the flaws in these views. Even if some of them may have merit as independent statements, they are unsuitable as exegesis for this verse.
قُلْ مَنْ يَرْزُقُكُمْ مِنَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۖ قُلِ اللَّهُ ۖ وَإِنَّا أَوْ إِيَّاكُمْ لَعَلَىٰ هُدًى أَوْ فِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ ٢٤
(34:24) Say: Who provides for you from the heavens and the earth? Say: Allah. And surely we or you are on a right way or in manifest error.
This embarks upon another argument against the idolaters. This time, it is from the angle of sustenance (rizq), which is the main reason they were worshipping their demigods, since they believed that worshipping their demigods would placate them and encourage the them to increase their sustenance.
Therefore, the Prophet was commanded to ask them who really sustained them from the heavens and the earth? The reply is that it is God—exalted be He—for sustenance, in and of itself, is a created thing, and there is no creator but God. Even the idolaters knew that, but they disdained to admit it with their tongues even if their hearts conceded to it. For that reason, God commanded the Prophet to provide them with the reply: Say: Allah.
And surely we or you are on a right way or in manifest error: This concludes the Prophet’s words, after had had presented a decisive argument and the clear truth on the question of godhood. These words are fair, and indicate that every claim must be either guided or misguided, true or false; there is no third possibility. Since he and they are making opposing claims, both sides cannot be correct; either he is guided and they or not, or they are guided and he is not. Therefore, he urges them to consider his argument fairly and distinguish guidance from misguidance, truth from falsehood.
On a right way (ʿalā hudā) and in manifest error (fī ḍalāl) are phrased differently, each beginning with different prepositions; namely, ʿalā (“on”) and fī (“in”). This is to convey the sense that a person who is guided is like a person who atop a lighthouse, seeing the way and able to understand where happiness lies. In contrast, a person who is misguided is shrouded in darkness; he does not know where to put his feet, which way to go, or what he is expected to be doing.
قُلْ لَا تُسْأَلُونَ عَمَّا أَجْرَمْنَا وَلَا نُسْأَلُ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ ٢٥
(34:25) Say: You shall not be questioned about what we are guilty of, and we shall not be questioned about what you do.
Meaning, deeds; specifically, evil deeds. They [that is, responsibility for them] are confined to their doer; they do not affix to anyone else. Therefore, no one else shall be questioned about them. You shall not be questioned about any evils that we wrought—for that is our responsibility—nor shall we be questioned about anything that you are responsible for.
This paves the way for the succeeding verses about the final gathering and judgment, for when two groups disagree over what is right and wrong, it is necessary to judge between them and distinguish them, so that the correct recompense can be meted out for good and evil. The one who does that is the exalted Lord.
The verse says what you do (taʿmalūn) rather than “what you are guilty of” to maintain a spirit of politeness during debate.
قُلْ يَجْمَعُ بَيْنَنَا رَبُّنَا ثُمَّ يَفْتَحُ بَيْنَنَا بِالْحَقِّ وَهُوَ الْفَتَّاحُ الْعَلِيمُ ٢٦
(34:26) Say: Our Lord will gather us together; then He will decide between us in truth, and He is the Arbiter, the Knower.
Since it is necessary to recompense every doer of good and evil with the recompense for their deeds, it is necessary to distinguish between the two groups by gathering them, then splitting them up. This is a matter which should be done by the One who manages things; namely, the Lord. He commands the Prophet to remind them that the One who gathers them then judges them in truth is the Lord of both sides. He is the omniscient judge who shall judge between all things in creation and management, to distinguish each thing from another, like the verse says: The heavens and the earth were affixed, then He split them apart (). And he knows all things.
This verse establishes two things. First, it establishes that the resurrection shall be to distinguish between those who do good and those who do evil. Second, it establishes that lordship, and the right to distinguish between people and recompense them, is not scattered among a multiplicity of demigods; instead, it is confined to the one Lord. Therefore, this verse disproves the lordship of the beings they took as lords.
Al-Fattāḥ (the Judge) is one of the beautiful names of God. Fatḥ means to find a distinguishing characteristic (faṣl) between two things in order to arrange them in a hierarchy, just as opening (fatḥ) a door to enter requires finding a means of separation (faṣl) between the door and what it is blocking. Fatḥ encompasses judging and distinguishing between two things with respect to their essence, their attributes, and their acts.
قُلْ أَرُونِيَ الَّذِينَ أَلْحَقْتُمْ بِهِ شُرَكَاءَ ۖ كَلَّا ۚ بَلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ ٢٧
(34:27) Say: Show me those whom you joined with Him as partners. Nay! He is Allah, the Mighty, the Wise.
This is another command to the Prophet, ordering him to ask them to show him their demigods so he can investigate them. Do they have the necessary attributes of divinity that would make them suitable to worship? Do they have independent life, knowledge, power, hearing, and sight? This is the meaning of show me those whom you have joined with Him as partners, meaning, those they supplemented God with as partners.
Then it refutes this. No! They cannot be partners to God. Either they will show him their idols which they worship, which are dead matter, devoid of any life, knowledge, or power; or they will show him the lords of these idols—angels or otherwise—whom they depict with their statues. Although these beings are not devoid of life, knowledge, or power, and they have been granted attributes of perfection by God, they do not independently exercise any of these attributes such that the divine duties would be delegated to them, as the polytheist claimed. The Necessary Existent, with Its infinite power, disallows that one of Its creations should share any of Its utter perfection.
Were they to claim that these beings share any of the divine duties, without enjoying independent, innate power, this would conflict divine wisdom.
This argument is alluded to in Nay! He is the Mighty, the Wise, for His might is what prevents other beings from sharing in His infinite divine attributes of lordship and divinity. It prevents other beings from encroaching upon the environs of His perfection, since He is infinite and boundless. Divine wisdom forbids there from being independent or even non-independent partners to God.
From this, it is clear that this verse contains a decisive proof. Ponder it well.
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا كَافَّةً لِلنَّاسِ بَشِيرًا وَنَذِيرًا وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ ٢٨
(34:28) And We have only sent you as a shield, (kāffatan), a bearer of glad tidings and as a warner, but most people know not.
Al-Rāghib says in al-Mufradāt:
Kaff is the human hand. It is what a human being uses to grasp and give things with. The verb form kafaftuhu means “I took him by the hand ” and “I pushed him away with my hand”. Eventually, kaff began to mean “push away”, whether or not it involved the actual hand. For instance, a blind man is called makfūf.
The Qur’an says, And we only sent you as a kāffatan to the people. Here, it means to keep them (kāffan) from wrongdoing. The -ah [in kāffah/kāffatan] makes it an intensified form, reflecting both frequency and intensity of doing the action, similar to the words rāwiyah (“storyteller”), ʿallāmah (“learned person”, “polymath”), and nasābah (“skilled genealogist”).
This understanding [of the meaning of kāffah] is reinforced by the description of the Prophet as a bearer of glad tidings and warner (bashīr and nadhīr), since both bashīr and nadhīr act as descriptions (ḥālān) further clarifying the meaning of kāffatan lil-nās.
Some might argue that kāffah really means “all”, in the sense of “We sent you as a messenger to all people.” However, this interpretation is convoluted.
This is because, in order for kāffatan lil-nās to mean “all people”, kāffah must (a) mean “all”, and (b) be a descriptor (ḥāl) of al-nās. However, according to grammarians, a ḥāl may not precede the thing that it is describing while what it is describing in the genitive case (majrūr).
Know further that while the verse speaks of prophethood, it is actually presenting another argument for tawḥīd, just like the previous verses. This argument pertains to sending a divine messenger. A true Lord (rabb) must send a messenger since His role is to manage people and guide them towards happiness and the ultimate goals of their existence. Therefore, the universality of the Prophet’s message—given that the Prophet is the messenger of God, not the messenger of anyone else—proves that lordship is confined to God. Were there other lords, they would have sent their messengers, and the Prophet’s message would not be universal; their messengers would have also disputed with him. This is the meaning of a saying attributed to ʿAlī: “If your Lord had a partner, it would have sent its own messenger.”
Because if kāffah meant “all people” as al-Rāghib has interpreted, then it would not be something that most people do not understand. While most people do not grasp the implication that since only God sends messengers to keep people from sin, bringing glad tidings and warnings, He must be the only being who enjoys lordship.
In short, the verse says that the idolaters cannot show any of God’s partners, while God sent the Prophet as a guardian against sins to all people, a bearer of glad tidings and as a warner. And if there were other Gods or demigods, then God would not be able to send you as a prophet to all people while some of them had other gods. And God knows best.
وَيَقُولُونَ مَتَىٰ هَٰذَا الْوَعْدُ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ ٢٩
(34:29) And they say, When will this promise happen, if you are telling the truth?
This is a question about when the resurrection and judgment shall occur. It is linked to a verse that came earlier; namely: Say: Our Lord will gather us together; then He will decide between us in truth, and He is the Arbiter, the Knower ().
This is also, incidentally, another argument for the interpretation that we put forward for And We have only sent you as a shield… (). Otherwise, if the interpretation of were something other than what we said [that is, if it were truly to be about prophethood rather than tawḥīd], this and the next verse [that is, ] would intervene between And we have only sent you… and the later verses which discuss the concept of prophethood.
قُلْ لَكُمْ مِيعَادُ يَوْمٍ لَا تَسْتَأْخِرُونَ عَنْهُ سَاعَةً وَلَا تَسْتَقْدِمُونَ ٣٠
(34:30) Say: You have this tryst on a day that you can neither hasten nor delay for a single hour.
God commands [the Prophet] to reply to them that the Resurrection shall occur at a fixed, pre-ordained, unchangeable time. God has decisively sworn that this shall happen. However, He has kept this time hidden, and none know it but Him.
Some exegetes have suggested that this verse refers to the time when a person dies. However, this view is unsound, since the idolaters were not asking when they will die. They were asking about the Promised Day, which is the day on which people are gathered and judged. These are characteristics of the Day of Resurrection, not the moment of death.
Examining Narrations
- Regarding Until [the time] when fear is removed from their hearts, they will ask, What did your Lord say? They will say, The truth, and He is the High, the Great (), Tafsīr al-Qummī relates in a narration from Abū al-Jārūd that Imām al-Bāqir said:
This occurred because the inhabitants had not heard any revelation descend between the time of Jesus, the son of Mary, and Muḥammad. When God sent Jibraʾīl to Muḥammad, the inhabitants of the heavens heard the sound of the Qur’an being revealed. It resounded like iron clattering onto rock, and they fainted.
After Jibraʾīl finished [receiving] the revelation, he descended to each level of the heavens and removed the terror from its inhabitants’ hearts, saying, “Dispel from their hearts.” Then some of them started asking others, “What did your Lord say?”
They replied, “Truth, and He is the High, the Great.”
Author’s comments: A similar account has been related from the Prophet in Sunni narrations, with and without full chains of narration. In any case, the narration is an instance of the application of the verse and not the sole root interpretation.
- In al-Durr al-Manthūr (from Ibn Mardawayh from Ibn ʿAbbas) and in Majmaʿ al-Bayān (from Ibn ʿAbbās), it is related that the Messenger of God said:
I have been given five things that no prophet before me was given. I was sent to all the people (kāffatan), red and white, whereas other prophets were sent to their own peoples. I have been aided by a fear which terrifies my enemies at a month’s distance. I have tasted the spoils of war (maghnam). The earth has been made a place of prostration (masjid) and pure for me. And I have been granted the capability to intercede. I have saved that for my nation on the Day of Resurrection, and, God willing, it [my intercession] shall reach everyone who did not associate any partner with God.
Author’s comments: This same idea is also narrated from Ibn al-Mundhir from Abū Hurayrah from the Prophet.
However, there are also opposing narrations. It is narrated copiously (mustafīḍ) that Noah was sent to all people. Others say that Abraham was sent to all people. Still others say that the ulū al-ʿazm prophets were all sent to the entire world.
Similarly, other narrations indicate that other prophets can also intercede. Furthermore, God says: Those whom you call upon other than Allah cannot intercede—except for those who bear witness (shahida) to the truth, while they know (). The Qur’an also describes Jesus as one of those who bears witness (al-shuhadāʾ): On the Day of Resurrection, he shall be a witness upon them (). [Therefore, the Prophet is not the only intercessor.]
Many Sunni and Shiʿi narrations describe the Prophet as having been sent to all people (lil-nās kāfah). Many of them take the word kāffah in wa mā arsalnāka illā kāffatan lil-nās () as a description (ḥāl) of lil-nās. However, the Basran grammarians do not allow for a describer (ḥāl) to precede what is being described, although the Kufan grammarians do.
See the discussion appended to the exegesis of Qur’an (volume 1 of the English translation). (Trans.) ↩︎
ʿAllāmah is mentioning this because “what you are guilty of” would be a more parallel expression since the first part of the verse says what we are guilty of (ajramnā). (Trans.) ↩︎
This is how it is most commonly rendered in English translation. For instance, the Yusufali translation reads: “We have not sent thee but as a universal (Messenger) to men, giving them glad tidings, and warning them (against sin), but most men understand not.” ʿAllāmah is providing a different explanation of the word kāffah, although he still refers to the universality of the Prophet. (Trans.) ↩︎
Here, referring to the ending -i in lil-nās-i. (Trans.) ↩︎
This is related in al-Durr al-Manthūr via from Ibn Mardawayh from Ibn ʿAbbās, and in Majmaʿ from him. ↩︎
ʿAllāmah does not consider this a correct interpretation of kāffatan, as he explains in his commentary on and also in his comments on this narration. ʿAllāmah’s objection is not to the universality of the Prophet’s message, but, rather, is grammatical. (Trans.) ↩︎